While the next general election in the United Kingdom will likely not occur for another two or three years (on or before June 3, 2010), the country will have a new Prime Minister before 2008.

Prime Minister Tony Blair has indicated that he will step down as leader of the Labour Party sometime this summer, with Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer (equivalent to Secretary of the Treasury or Minister of Finance in other nations), expected to replace him as party leader and therefore Prime Minister.

Born in 1951 in Scotland, Mr. Brown has served for the last ten years as Britain’s finance minister and the Prime Minister’s right-hand man. Now that the time frame for the changeover is almost certain, many in Britain and elsewhere are asking how Mr. Brown will be different from Mr. Blair—particularly in regard to the “special” transatlantic relationship between Britain and the United States.

The Christian Science Monitor reports that many expect Mr. Brown to be a “much different” Prime Minister, with a focus on trade and social justice, and Africa instead of the Middle East. Since he was never as enthusiastic as Mr. Blair concerning the war in Iraq, it appears Mr. Brown has little in common with President Bush.

Still, some say Gordon Brown is pro-American.

“Gordon is very much an Americaphile, in some ways more than Blair,” stated Stephen Twigg, a former government minister who is now director of the Foreign Policy Center think tank in London. “When he goes on holiday abroad, he tends to go to Cape Cod, while Blair normally holidays in Europe. Culturally, Gordon is very much an Atlanticist with strong connections to U.S. politics” (Christian Science Monitor).

Nevertheless, Mr. Twigg added that Mr. Brown might accentuate some of the differences between U.S. and British policies, whereas Mr. Blair would have downplayed them. He has otherwise shown no signs of a strong affection for Europe.

Concerning Iraq, on February 21 the UK government announced its intention of reducing troop levels. However, Britain has increased its military commitment in Afghanistan.

While Mr. Brown’s leadership of the Labour Party is not guaranteed, there is no sign of any other party member rising to challenge him. In the bigger picture, however, several polls have indicated that the Conservative Party has taken the lead over the Labour Party in the past several months.

In addition, the U.S. will be preparing for a new White House administration in less than two years—adding another variable to British-U.S. relations in the near future.

Regardless of leadership, Britain and the United States are headed for difficult times. Their societies are based on excess, greed and nonstop pleasure-seeking, all propped up by a debt-laden, consumer-based economy. Rights and “freedoms” increasingly have no bounds. Bible prophecy states plainly that this will shortly come to an abrupt end! Consider these words from David C. Pack in AMERICA and BRITAIN in bible prophecy:

“Be careful you do not say, ‘But this could never happen to America and Britain.’ Do not assume we earned such marvelous blessings by our own ingenuity, forgetting that they were simply the fulfillment of a great promise made 4,000 years ago. This assumption supposes that we will always be able to rescue ourselves from any national dilemma because we were able to bring these blessings on ourselves. We were not—they were given to us!

“The same God who once sent Israel and Judah into captivity can do it again. The facts are in! The handwriting is on the wall—and you need to wake up to the reality of what has already happened to Britain’s greatness, with America soon to follow her decline! And yet, the steepest decline—and complete crash—has yet to occur even to Britain. What lies ahead is so horrible, so terrible, that you must shake yourself to understand!”

But what comes after that for these great nations is more wonderful than you can imagine! For more details, be sure to read the rest of the book. Time is growing short!